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Saturday, March 31, 2012

Salon Review: Dominican Salon (Birmingham, AL)

Happy Saturday lovelies!

Lawd hammercy I have had a busy day! I've been on the go since about 6 this morning. Part of my day was spent in a salon chair. I recently found out that Birmingham has not one but 3 Dominican salons!! I have been itching to have my hair straightened without me being the one to do the straightening so I guess you can call this revelation kismet, perhaps? Either way, I wanted to give this salon a go.

Let me just say a word about Dominican salons. Personally, I am a fan of them. In undergrad, a Dominican salon opened up close to campus (Elegante Salon in Norfolk, VA) and I was there at least once a month. However, the thing with these salons is that they use a lot of heat. A LOT OF HEAT! LOTS. MUCHO. Y'all get my drift. While I think they are excellent for getting a nice blow out style every once in awhile, I would not recommend for anyone to go their frequently in general but especially if you are transitioning or are natural. You risk potential heat damage and that is just not cute. As with everything, this is something to do in moderation. Oh and I don't recommend getting a relaxer from there either.

Now with that disclaimer out of the way.....let's get down to the nitty gritty!

Name: Dominican Salon (no, seriously. This is the name!)

Location:

279 West Valley Ave
Birmingham, AL 35209

* It's in the Summit Square shopping center. It's a little bit past the Wells Fargo and across from Herzing College *Hours:

Monday-Friday: 10am-7pm
Saturday: 8am-7pm
Sunday: Closed

My Experience:

I arrived at the salon about 30 minutes before it was scheduled to open. This wasn't a problem because I got to eat my yum-tastic Chick-fil-A breakfast in the meantime. At about 10 after 8, someone finally showed up to open the salon. Since there was a group of us already waiting, we figured out who showed up first (which was me) and signed our name in the book. Since I was first, I was immediately escorted to the shampoo bowl. The shampoo girl did a pretty good job at washing my hair, although she was a bit rough at times. Once the shampoo was rinsed out, she place conditioner in my hair and proceeded to comb (the fact she waited to comb my hair until it was loaded with condish scored major points with me!) my hair. Unfortunately, she was attempting to detangle my 15 weeks and some odd days post hair with a smaller tooth comb. I had to stop her and hand her my Jilbere. It made the process easier. By 8:30, I was under the hood with my DC. During this time, a number of ladies had been escorted to the shampoo bowl and were well on their way to sitting under the dryer. By 9am, the condish was rinsed out of my hair and I was waiting for the next step. So normally, following the rinse of the DC, roller setting is next. However, because these chicks deemed my hair to be natural, they did something different. First, the girl sectioned my hair off and detangled ( kinda roughly and with a small tooth comb). Then, she twisted each section ( kinda like a bantu knot but not quite knotted...that's the best way for me to describe it) and clipped them. I can see what it did in terms of providing tension for the new growth, I just thought it was an interesting way of doing things. For the ladies who had pin straight relaxed hair to begin with, they did a regular ol' roller set.

After I sat under the dryer for some minutes, the blowout process began. I have to say, the girl did an excellent job! She got my hair straight with that blow dryer AND she did not fry my scalp in the process! That was huge for me! I have been to Dominican salons where they put the heat of the blow dryer directly on your scalp. And it hurts. And I never went back. Anyway, she finished up by passing a flat iron through it and I loved the results. She mentioned that I needed to get my ends trimmed but I declined....to have it done there. I mean they can do work with some heat and all but I took my tail to SuperCuts to Danyelle (the only stylist I trust to put scissors to my hair...real talk.). After all of that, I wound up paying $50, which was kind of disturbing but understandable. Birmingham isn't like New York where there are Dominican salons on every corner so they aren't really required to charge a super low price. Also, I think I paid more because my hair is a) 'natural' (according to them) and b) long so that would make for an extra cost. All and all, I have to say I had a very pleasurable experience. I would definitely go back in the future.

Take a look at the results! It looks like I just got a relaxer don't it? :)

I had my first dominican blow out today. I have been "natural" since May of last year. I will say Christina did a fabulous job. She was courteous and very helpful with explaining the process. She trimmed my ends and evwn gave me a gradual layered look. I love my hair and will definitely be a repeat cuustomer.Oh yeah, my wait time was very short. I highly recommend this salon.LaShawn

I went to that salon this past saturday and was charged $60.00. My hair looked good until today. I guess the moisture from the rain helped to reverse my hair to its natural state. I don't think paying $60.00 for 3-4 days is worth it.

Wow, a Dominican salon in Alabama?!?! I am shocked. I need to Google it down here. Your hair came out lovely. I had no idea your hair was so long (kind of new to your blog). Love your length and thickness. You look beautiful in the top pic.

Roflmbo @ 'Dominican Salon'! I cracked up! Girl Bham is ahead of N'ville...there are NONE here. But I'm with you, in NJ a good rollerwrap with blown out roots can be done for $25. You hair is amazing chica, this is my final goal length. Just gorgeous!

I didn't know you were in N'ville!! I don't know how far that is from Memphis but there is a Dominican salon there. All I know is, there needs to be more Dominican salons here so that can drive the prices down. It doesn't help I get the long hair charge off top...smh. $50 means that is something I do every once in awhile.

Yowza!!! Your hair looks AMAZING! You grew it that long in what seems a very short time. In any event, ladies, i must say that I smile a little every time I hear about how Dominican Salons give such good blow outs. Their method of blow drying is all I have ever known my entire life. now however, I also know better than to frequent the salon as much as I did in the past, and I am actually seeing progress. Thank you for your blog, you're an inspiration.

It would be great to know who actually did your blow out. I have not yet been to a Dominican Salon, I am completely natural. What has scared me is the term HEAT. So, if you had someone who was gentle with out the dryer to your scalp .... please do tell.

Sure thing! I went to Josefina. She made sure that the dryer did not touch my scalp! Do not, do not , DO NOT go to the old woman who occupies the center styling station. I had a terrible experience with her (she burned my scalp w/ the blow dryer and talked about me in Spanish because I had a problem with it). Looking back, I was warned about her from a client who also happened to be natural during my first visit to the salon...I should have heeded her words. Hope this helps!

The old lady permed my daughter's hair about two years ago. Let's just say that she is now natural, but not by choice. She had to start over. She told the lady over and over that it was burning, but she tried to shampoo two girls while after she put the perm in. She also did not take into account that my daughter is a child....no pre-oil, edge protection...nothing.

Hi Sharday I am natural and so is my 10yr old we get our hair done every 2weeks but my daughter who is natural as well is wanting her hair straighter, my concern is with most of my researching this can cause your hair to break off and with me I would not be devastated but she would be so can you blogg how your hair was after the blow out and how long did it last. When my girl press my hair itconverts to it natural stage if it is very hot or humidity outside very fast. Thank

To help w/ reversion, I suggest getting an anti humidity product such as Sabino Lok Blok or Aveda anti-humectant pomade. Since I try no to do blow outs frequently, my hair was fine. I made sure that my hair was deep conditioned before hand and I kept my hair moisturized while it was straight. The style lasted for a week (I wash my hair weekly). That said, I am not natural so I didn't have to worry about keeping my curl pattern. Since your daughter is natural, doing even 1 blow out at that high heat can irreversibly damage her curl pattern. So I say tread lightly with that. HTH!

You should try going back now [: Their prices have lowered. Unfortunately, my hair is natural. It has been for 2 in a half years now. Its only $40 unless I chose to get my ends clipped. They do do a good job though. I go every 4 weeks. (: Your hair looked so pretty btw!

thank you SO much I am 12 weeks post and I live in Birmingham. I have looked at that salon for weeks but I was too scared to go in. I am glad you wrote this I am so excited! I will be sure not to go to the old woman that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Has anyone gone to the pelham salon before? I just relocated from GA and im used to the Dominican salons there and this one doesnt appear to be the same. Also, has anyone experienced the dom salon on lorna rd down fron galleria?

So, have you ever gotten heat damage from a dominican salon? I went to the one in Pelham, AL and had an awesome experience. Later that week, my hair poofed up because of the weather and I had a friend go back over it. In the end, I have heat damage that I'm not sure was gotten from the salon or my friend. Now, I don't know what to do. I want to wear it straight again, but I'm afraid that it may be damaged further, but the curly look ain't kickn' because of the heat damage. Any suggestions?

Personally, I have never gotten any heat damage from a Dominican salon. However, my friend who is natural has gotten heat damage. After her curls couldn't be revived by a good DC, she had no choice but to cut the jank sections b/c her curly styles didn't look right. If you have already tried to dc your hair back to normal and that still didn't work, you may have to cut those ends too.

I live in Walker County and have been looking for a Dominican Salon since visiting one in New York a few years back, Im trying to stop using perms on my hair so I figured this would be the way to go;-) Im sooooo very glad I found this blog I will be making an appointment First thing Tuesday morning!! Thank You!!

I went today for a blow out, I heard about them from my daughter, I was very pleased with the results, my natural hair was straighter than it has ever been, only complaint is the heat,the hair dryer and the blow dryer, I will go back, maybe every 4 weeks